Birth Injuries and Cerebral Palsy Lawyers

The birth of a new baby should be a joyous time. But for about five families out of 1,000, that happiness is overshadowed by an injury during birth. Cerebral palsy, which affects one in 500 babies, may be the most devastating because it stems from permanent, irreversible damage to the baby’s brain. If your family is facing a serious birth injury because of medical professionals’ bad decisions, you have the right to demand justice.

A birth injury isn’t the same as a birth defect, which is a problem the baby develops before birth. Birth injuries are injuries the baby sustains from physical trauma during the birthing process -- which means they’re almost always preventable. They run the gamut from minor bruising to serious problems like permanent nerve damage, brain damage and broken bones. More common birth injuries include:

• Erb’s palsy and other injuries to the brachial plexus. This is a form of nerve damage that can leave a child’s arm partially or completely paralyzed.
• Facial paralysis (temporary or permanent) due to nerve damage
• Cephalohematoma (bleeding in the baby’s skull) or caput succedaneum (scalp bleeding), very occasionally with a broken skull.
• Brain damage due to oxygen deprivation (anoxia or hypoxia).
• Broken collarbone or other bones.

Cerebral palsy is an especially serious birth injury that stems from oxygen deprivation during birth. This often happens if the baby gets stuck in the birth canal or behind the mother’s pelvis (shoulder dystocia), cutting off his or her oxygen supply. If the baby’s brain can’t get enough oxygen, brain cells literally die, and certain brain functions will never be entirely normal. The effects vary with each child, but usually include problems with movement -- involuntary movements, muscle spasms or tightness, trouble walking. Some children also have trouble with speech; sight, hearing and other senses; seizures; or even mild cognitive problems.

Doctors believe most cases of cerebral palsy start before birth, and a few start afterward, but 10 to 25 percent are caused by injury during birth. These and other birth injuries may sometimes be unavoidable -- but often, they could have been prevented by different decisions from the doctors and other medical professionals attending the birth. When these decisions are so bad that they fall below the accepted standard of care for your community, they are medical malpractice. If you believe your family sustained a birth injury because of this type of malpractice, you have the right to hold the negligent professionals and facilities responsible for the results.

Panish, Shea & Boyle is nationally renowned as a leader in personal injury and consumer litigation. Our personal injury attorneys have a strong record of success in winning large recoveries for our clients, including more than 150 verdicts and settlements of $1 million or more, and several record-setting verdicts. Our successes include a medical case, Don Gino Dominguez v. South Central Los Angeles Medical Center, in which we won $2 million for the family of a mentally disabled man who choked to death after being left unsupervised.

Panish, Shea & Boyle attorneys are leaders in personal injury and consumer protection law. All of our attorneys are active in legal organizations, and our partners frequently write and speak to other attorneys about trial procedure and specific areas of the law. Our partners have been nominated or awarded for honors like Trial Lawyer of the Year and Most Influential Attorneys multiple times, and frequently take leadership roles in complex national litigation.